Asian markets sank on Friday as the intensifying conflict in the Gulf revived inflation fears and spiked oil prices back past US$100 a barrel.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong ended down 247 points, or 1 percent, at 24,963 on turnover of HK$209.9 billion.

The tech index fell 68 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,629 while the China enterprises index was 81 points, or 1 percent, down at 8,271.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 62 points, or 1.6 percent, to close at 3,814 on turnover of 915.4 billion yuan.

The Shenzhen Component Index shed 348 points, or 2.5 percent to 13,774 on turnover of 1.02 trillion yuan while the ChiNext Index declined 94 points, or 2.7 percent, to 3,480 on turnover of 446.93 billion yuan.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei share average ended 1,811 points, or 2.7 percent, lower at 64,611 but rose 0.7 percent for the week after a 6.4 percent fall in the previous week. The broader Topix index slipped 42 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,011.

In Seoul, the Kospi plunged 406 points, or 5.7 percent, to 6,690 after three straight sessions of gains to end the week 1.9 percent lower.

SK Hynix, the world's top memory chipmaker, and rival Samsung Electronics fell 8.3 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively. The two stocks account for more than half of the benchmark Kospi gauge. (Agencies)



Edited by Cecil Wong